Motor Fuel Trends
As part of the data trends we track at NJGCA, we recently received updated statistics from the State about motor fuel sales in 2024. 2024 saw another year-over-year increase in the total number of both gasoline and diesel gallons sold in the State, to about 3.71 billion gallons of gasoline and 800 million gallons of diesel motor fuel (4.5 billion total). That’s the fourth year in a row gallons have increased, however we are still 5.7% below where we were in 2019, when 4.79 billion gallons were sold in total.
That’s even more disappointing when you consider that the Census Bureau estimates the total population of the state has increased by a net of about 200,000 people over that time period, which should mean more miles traveled and more gallons sold. While increased electric vehicle sales are no doubt responsible for some of the blame, only about 3% of the vehicles on the road are either battery EVs or hybrids. Most of that decline has come from new gas-powered cars (which get more miles to the gallon) replacing aging vehicles that are less fuel efficient. There is also less demand among consumers since more people working from home post-covid–either permanently or partially, or even just are more likely to have meetings virtually rather than driving to a physical meeting place.
See below for a chart dating from 2011 through 2024:
Our high-water mark remains 2016, with 5.14 billion gallons sold. It was in November of that year that the State raised the gas tax by 22.6¢ a gallon. By the end of 2019, gasoline sales were down 255 million gallons (6%) and diesel was down 102 million gallons (11%).
From that high in 2016 through 2024, gasoline sales have declined by 530 million gallons (12.5%) and diesel fuel is down 102 million gallons (11.2%).
Interestingly, the decline from 2019 is entirely in gasoline, in 2024 we actually sold 1 million more gallons of diesel fuel than we did pre-covid.
On a monthly basis, July was the highest volume month of the year, about 19% higher than February, the lowest month.
One concerning note is that we also received the numbers from the first four months of 2025, and the trend line is declining sales, rather than continuing the increases we’ve been seeing. While diesel sales are slightly higher, gasoline sales for the first four months of 2025 are 3.4% less than they were in the first four months of 2024, and each of those months individually had fewer sales than the same month in 2024. Another sign of a worrying trend–37 of the 41 months between March 2021 and July 2024 saw higher total fuel sales than the same month the prior year. But in the nine months from August 2024-April 2025, eight have seen a year-over-year decline. Hopefully that turns around in the second half of the year.
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